PHONETIC COURSE Proactive English System ®


Proactive English System ®
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https://www.facebook.com/pescopilco.4
This book was written by Antonio Anzaldúa and Edited by Eduardo Anzaldúa for the exclusive use within
Proactive English System. March 2015 ®

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 PHONETIC COURSE Proactive English System ®

# LESSON PAGE TARGET

1 PHONETIC BOARD AND PHONETIC ALPHABET 3 SOUNDS AND

SYMBOLS

2 VOWELS AND CONSONANTS 4 CLASSIFICATION

3 COUNTERPARTS, MINIMAL PAIRS AND 10 PRONUNCIATION

CLUSTERS
4 THE PRONUNCIATION OF PLURAL –S 12 PRONUNCIATION
AND THE –ED VERBS
5 STRESS 15 PRONUNCIATION

6 TRANSCRIPTION 18 TRANSCRIPTION

7 TRANSCRIPTION II 22 TRANSCRIPTION

8 REVIEW AND MIDTERM EXAM 25 TEST

9 ASPIRATION 27 PRONUNCIATION &

TRANSCRIPTION

10 LENGTHENING AND INSERTION OF // 30 PRONUNCIATION &

TRANSCRIPTION

11 SENTENCE STRESS 32 STRESS

CONTENT AND FUNCTION WORDS
12 RISING-FALLING INTONATION 34 INTONATION

13 RISING INTONATION 37 INTONATION

NON-FINAL INTONATION
14 NON-FINAL INTONATION II 42 INTONATION

15 REVIEW 46 TEST

16 FINAL EXAM TEST

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LESSON 1 PHONETIC BOARD AND PHONETIC ALPHABET

According to the Newbury House Dictionary, “phonetics” is the science and study of speech sounds.
It is particularly important in English because spelling is the weakest point in this language. Yes, there is no
direct relationship between letters and sounds like in Spanish or Italian for instance. A computer analysis of
17,000 English words showed that about 84% of these words followed regular patterns; the rest of them
were rather irregular; actually, 3% of these words were so unpredictable they could only be pronounced
correctly after hearing them! In other words, phonetics is the science that helps us pronounce words
and sentences correctly.

Here at Professional English School, we have the Phonetic Board to check pronunciation, but if you’re
not sure of the right pronunciation of a word, you can check an English-English dictionary. They indicate the
correct pronunciation using a phonetic alphabet. There are several of these alphabets; every dictionary
includes a guide for you to check the pronunciation of the words. Here we present a list of the sounds of the
English language included on the Phonetic Board and its corresponding symbol according to the Newbury
House Dictionary. We will use this phonetic alphabet throughout the course.

# P. SYMBOL EXAMPLE
# P. SYMBOL EXAMPLE
1 // Bee
2 // Moon 22 // Tiger
3 // Fish 23 // Chair
4 // Alarm 24 // Snake
5 // Book 25 // Shoes
6 // Egg 26 // Coffee
7 // Sun 27 // There
8 // World 28 // Banana
9 // Dancer 29 // Video
10 // Car 30 // Donut
11 // At 31 // Giraffe
12 // Ice 32 // Zipper
13 // Cake 33 // Television
14 // United States 34 // Guitar
15 // Oil 35 // Heart
16 // Boat 36 // Yellow
17 // Cow 37 // Wolf
18 // Dog 38 // Lamp
19 // Three 39 // Rabbit
20 // Pear 40 // Mouse
21 // Flower 41 // Nose

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42 // Ring
LESSON 2 CLASSIFICATION OF VOWELS AND CONSONANTS

There are five fundamental vowels that occur in many modern languages; these are the five vowels
represented in the Roman alphabet. They are normally used alone (pure vowels) in most European
languages. English however differs from others in that it has 11 vowel sounds and a number of diphthongs
and combinations. Our Phonetic Board includes 18 vowel sounds, divided in vowels and diphthongs:

THE 11 VOWEL SOUNDS IN ENGLISH ARE:

SYMBOL EXAMPLE

// Bee
// Moon
// Fish
// Alarm
// Book
// Egg
// Sun
// World
// Car
// At
// Dog

DIPHTHONGS

Diphthongs are formed combining a vowel with a //, and // or an //.

SYMBOL EXAMPLE

// Ice
// Cake
// United States
// Oil
// Boat
// Cow

THE VOWEL TRIANGLE

The vowel triangle is an attempt to classify the vowel sounds according to the place of the mouth in which
they are pronounced, dividing them in: front, central and back vowels. The vowels in the triangle are also
placed depending on how much we open our mouths to pronounce them. The lower in the triangle, the

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more we open the mouth to say the sounds; the higher in the triangle, the less we open the mouth to say
the sounds. Notice that the PB observes a similar arrangement.

FRONT CENTRAL BACK

// //
// // //
// // //
// // //
//

SYLLABLES HAVING NO STRESS AT ALL ARE USUALLY PRONOUNCED WITH ANY OF THE
SO-CALLED UNSTRESSED VOWELS: // OR //.

EXERCISE 1. Underline the word that contains a different vowel sound in each group.

1. piece, sleep, each, bread, she 6. pot, got, stop, dark, dog
2. sit, if, first, him, quick 7. talk, thought, draw, cross, low
3. plain, death, they, great, name 8. close, though, love, road, most
4. learn, friend, left, head, next 9. book, full, put, door, should
5. add, back, have, war, laugh 10. fuel, blue, two, move, do

EXERCISE 2. Fill in the blanks with the phonetic symbol that corresponds to the vowel sound of each of
the following words:

1. ship // 11. box //

2. sheep // 12. hot //
3. go // 13. wide //
4. match // 14. off //
5. south // 15. arm //
6. late // 16. fall //
7. bit // 17. stand //
8. beat // 18. high //
9. hunt // 19. girl //
10. up // 20. down //

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ORGANS OF SPEECH

The parts of the body that we use in order to pronounce the sounds of speech are the organs of speech.
Study the following diagram:

1. Nose // 8. Tongue //

2. Nasal Passage // 9. Tip of the tongue //

3. Lips // 10. Jaw //

4. Teeth // 11. Throat //

5. Tooth ridge // 12. Vocal cords //

6. Hard palate // 13. Lungs //

7. Velum // 14. Mouth //

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THE 24 CONSONANTS IN ENGLISH ARE:

SYMBOL EXAMPLE SYMBOL EXAMPLE

// Three // Giraffe

// Pear // Zipper
// Flower // Television
// Tiger // Guitar
// Chair // Heart
// Snake // Yellow
// Shoes // Wolf
// Coffee // Lamp
// There // Rabbit
// Banana // Mouse
// Video // Nose
// Donut // Ring

The phonetic symbols are a little easier than those of the vowel sounds in that most of them correspond to
the same letters used when we spell words. Notice that the letters “c”, “j”, “q” and “x” are not used as
phonetic symbols.

CLASSIFICATION OF CONSONANTS

VOICED AND VOICELESS SOUNDS

Consonants can be classified according to different criteria. One of which is in voicing or the lack of it. We
say that a sound is voiced if our vocal cords vibrate as we pronounce it; a sound is voiceless if it is
pronounced without such vibration. Press your thumb and forefinger lightly against the sides of your throat;
then pronounce // and // alternatively in imitation of your teacher. You should be able to feel the vibration
of the vocal cords as you pronounce //, and no vibration as you say //. In other words, // is voiced while
// is voiceless. Try pronouncing // and //. Can you classify them?

We can tell you that all vowel sounds are voiced, and so are most consonants. Actually on the PB only
sounds // // // // // // // // and // are voiceless sounds.

STOPS AND CONTINUANTS

Another criterion we can use in order to classify consonant sounds is the time they take to be pronounced.
A continuant is a sound that can be prolonged as long as the speaker has breath to pronounce it, like //.
A stop is a sound that must be pronounced instantaneously, and cannot be held, like //.

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SIBILANTS
Among continuant sounds, six consonants are known as sibilants, because of the hissing sound (similar
to //) with which they are pronounced. The sibilant sounds are //, //, //, //, // and //. This
classification is important to determine the pronunciation of words ending in “s” as we’ll study later.

POINT OF ARTICULATION
Another way in which we can classify consonants is the point of articulation, or the position in which we
arrange our organs of speech to pronounce the sound. A consonant sound can be classified in one or
more of the different categories:

BILABIALS

These are the sounds that are produced using both lips. //, // and //.

LABIODENTALS

These are the sounds that are produced using the upper teeth and the lower lip. // and //.

INTERDENTALS

These are the sounds that are produced putting your tongue between your teeth. // and //.

PALATAL

These are the sounds that are produced using our hard palate. //, //, //, //, //, //, //, // and //.

VELAR

These are the sounds that are produced using our velum. //, // and //.

NASALS

These are the sounds that are produced passing air through our nasal passage. //, // and //.

GLOTTAL

Sound produced passing air through the mouth. //.

GLIDES

These are the sounds that are produced moving our jaw from an original position to the articulation
of the following vowel sound. // and /w/

RETROFLEX

These are considered by some linguists as “glides”, with the additional characteristic that the tongue
takes a more dynamic role and usually moves backwards. These sounds are /l/ and //.

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PAIR WORK. Classify the 24 consonants of the English language. Do not turn the pages.

SYMBOL VOICING STOP/CONTINUANT POINT OF ARTICULATION

// voiceless continuant interdental

// voiceless stop bilabial

// voiceless continuant labiodental

// voiceless stop palatal

// voiceless stop palatal, sibilant

// voiceless continuant palatal, sibilant

// voiceless continuant palatal, sibilant

// voiceless stop velar

// voiced continuant interdental

// voiced stop bilabial

// voiced continuant labiodental

// voiced stop palatal

// voiced stop palatal, sibilant

// voiced continuant palatal, sibilant

// voiced continuant palatal, sibilant

// voiced stop velar

// voiceless stop glottal

// voiced stop palatal, glide

// voiced stop velar, glide

// voiced continuant palatal, retroflex

// voiced stop palatal, retroflex

// voiced continuant bilabial, nasal

// voiced continuant palatal, nasal

// voiced continuant velar, nasal

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LESSON 3 COUNTERPARTS, MINIMAL PAIRS AND CLUSTERS

COUNTERPARTS

There are sounds that have the same point of articulation. That is, our organs of speech are arranged exactly
in the same position to pronounce them, but they have a different voice; one of them is voiced (the vocal
cords vibrate when we say the sound) while the other one is voiceless (the vocal cords do not vibrate when
we pronounce the sound). These pairs of sounds are called COUNTERPARTS. We have eight such pairs of
sounds. They are placed one upon the other on the Phonetic Board. The eight counterparts are:

// - // continuant, interdental. // is voiceless and // is voiced.

// - // stop, bilabial. // is voiceless and // is voiced.

// - // continuant, labiodental. // is voiceless and // is voiced.

// - // stop, palatal. // is voiceless and // is voiced.

// - // stop, palatal, sibilant. // is voiceless and // is voiced.

// - // continuant, palatal, sibilant. // is voiceless and // is voiced.

// - // continuant, palatal, sibilant. // is voiceless and // is voiced.

// - // stop, velar. // is voiceless and // is voiced.

MINIMAL PAIRS

Two words that differ from each other in only one sound, either in a vowel or in a consonant sound, are called
“Minimal Pairs”. Check the following examples:

eat // it //

best // vest //
leap // lip //
girl // curl //
jam // gem //
yellow // jello //
pick // pig //

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EXERCISE 1. Fill in the blanks with the corresponding symbol.

1. tree // three //

2. feet // fit //
3. nice /    / niece //
4. ice /   / eyes /   /
5. yet // jet /    /
6. watch /    / wash //
7. boss // bus //
8. law // low /   /
9. hat // hot //
10. pie /   / pay /   /

CLUSTERS

Sometimes it’s common in English to have consonant clusters. These occur when a sequence of two or
more consonant sounds appear in the same syllable. They can appear at the beginning or at the end of a
word, and they can be quite difficult to pronounce for students whose native tongues do not permit such
clusters.

Spanish Speakers, for example, find it difficult to pronounce initial consonant clusters like - without
placing a vowel before it. We tend to say  for speak and  for student. Chinese Speakers, for
example, some times say  for cream.

More of a problem for many speakers than the initial consonant clusters are those that come in a final
position. The addition of –s and –ed endings frequently produce consonant clusters which students find
difficult to pronounce like asks ; watched ; changed , etc.

But things can even get a little worse when a word with a final cluster is followed by another one that has
an initial cluster. Changed three  or looked strong . Some new English learners may
tend to insert an unnatural vowel sound to separate both clusters, but the teacher shouldn’t permit that. Be
strict. Have them practice extensively until they can avoid this mistake.

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LESSON 4 RULES FOR THE PRONUNCIATION OF –S AND –ED

FINAL -S

When we want to make a noun plural or possessive, or to put a verb in the third person singular form of
the present tense, we add an –s, -‘s or an –es. However, the ending is pronounced depending on the
last sound of the noun or the verb in simple form.

1. // If the noun or the verb ends in a voiceless non-sibilant sound. , , , ,  or .

ant ants 

jump jumps 
laugh laughs 

2. // If the noun or the verb ends in a voiced non-sibilant sound. Any vowel sound or
consonants , , , , , , , , , ,  or .

spider spiders 

firefly fireflies 
play plays 

3. / or / If the noun or the verb ends in a sibilant sound. , , , ,  or .

bus buses 

change changes 
wash washes 

EXERCISE 1. Write the phonetic symbol that corresponds to the last sound of the following words
,, or .

1. Pants  11. Eggs 

2. Prefers  12. Bees 
3. Boxes  13. Laps 
4. Faces  14. Changes 
5. Plays  15. Loves 
6. Smokes  16. Packs 
7. Studies  17. Glasses 
8. Creates  18. Pens 
9. Screams  19. Hats 
10. Eyes  20. Books 

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FINAL -ED

Regular verbs in past only have an -ed ending. However, they can be pronounced in three different ways
depending on the last sound of the verb in simple form.

1. // If the verb in simple form ends in a voiceless sound. , , , , , ,  or .
Except for .

work worked 

jump jumped 
laugh laughed 

2. // If the verb in simple form ends in a voiced sound. Except for . Any vowel sound or
consonants , , , , , ,, , , , , ,  or .

order ordered c

call called 
play played 

3. / If the noun or the verb ends in  or .

invite invited 

need needed 
divide divided 

EXERCISE 2. Write the phonetic symbol that corresponds to the last sound of the following words
, , or .

1. Acted  11. Prayed 

2. Danced  12. Clapped 
3. Cried  13. Answered 
4. Cooked  14. Changed 
5. Tried  15. Admitted 
6. Hated  16. Packed 
7. Pushed  17. Organized 
8. Showed  18. Kissed 
9. Shouted  19. Spanked 
10. Screamed  20. Married 

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EXCEPTIONS

1. Non-verbal adjectives. They are adjectives that do not derive from a verb, so even if they look
like verbs, they don’t follow these rules as they finish with “-ed” as a coincidence.

EXCEPTION: PRONUNCIATION: MEANING:

Naked  Without clothes.

Ragged  Having a worn, uneven edge; like old clothes.

Rugged  1) A hilly, difficult road. 2) Strong, healthy, vigorous.

Wicked  Very bad, evil.

Wretched  Dirty, poor and very unhappy; miserable.

Two-legged - Adj. a being that has two legs.

2. Adverbs ending in “-edly”. They are pronounced: .

Supposed   Supposedly 

Blessed   Blessedly 
Confused   Confusedly 

EXERCISE 3. Write the phonetic symbols that correspond to the following regular verbs in singular
form of the third person in simple present , , or  and in simple past , , or .

VERB IN S. F. VERB IN 3RD PERSON VERB IN PAST

1. Pull pulls  pulled 

2. Clean cleans  cleaned 
3. Hunt hunts  hunted 
4. Finish finishes  finished 
5. Correct corrects  corrected 
6. Confuse confuses  confused 
7. Admit admits  admitted 
8. Charge charges  charged 
9. Ask asks  asked 
10. Close closes  closed 
11. Fix fixes  fixed 
12. Chat chats  chatted 
13. Explain explains  explained 
14. Help helps  helped 
15. Call calls  called 

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LESSON 5 STRESS

Stress is one of the most distinctive features of the English Language. The important syllables in English
are more prominent, and the unimportant syllables are less prominent than in most other languages.
Stress is then the key to the pronunciation of an English word. The location of the accent should
always be learned with the word. If we stress the wrong syllable, it may be quite impossible for a listener
to understand what we’re trying to say.

Stress actually does more than give character and rhythm to a word; it also determines the value
of each of its vowels, as we’ll see when we learn how to transcribe words and sentences in phonetic
symbols further in this course. A letter “a”, for instance, can be pronounced  or  depending on the
force we use to pronounce the corresponding syllable.

A typical mistake an English learner makes is pronouncing unstressed vowels the way they are spelled.
They tend to say apparently like  instead of .

A good way to improve our pronunciation is to obscure unstressed vowels. That is to pronounce
the schwa sound  in every unstressed syllable not trying to associate the sound with the letters
“a”, “e” or “i”. Our organs of speech are completely relaxed when we pronounce the schwa sound, and
it’s therefore easier to pronounce. A native English speaker is willing to make the necessary effort to
pronounce a stressed syllable correctly, but he or she would make no special effort to pronounce an
unstressed syllable. He would just say a vowel sound with his or her organs of speech in a very relaxed
position (schwa sound).

WHERE THE STRESS FALLS

Unfortunately, there are not infallible rules for determining which syllable of the word should be stressed.
Only checking a dictionary can we be sure about this if we haven’t heard the word pronounced by
somebody familiar with it before. There are, however, certain observations that should be of help.

1. The great majority of two syllable words, at least three out of four, are stressed on the first syllable.

Open /
Tackle 
Under 
Father 
Mountain 

2. Most nouns, adjectives and adverbs are stressed on the first syllable.

Nouns: Window / Exceptions: Garage 

Party  Eraser 
Children  Computer 

Adjectives: Happy  Exceptions: Intelligent 

Ugly  Naïve //
Difficult  Afraid 

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Adverbs: Very  Exception: Efficiently 

Never 
Clearly 

3. Most verbs in English are stressed on the second syllable.

Begin / Exceptions: Copy 

Become  Answer 
Admit  Listen 
Prescribe 

4. Some words can function either as a noun or as a verb, but the stress changes. When they’re
functioning as a noun, they’re stressed in the first syllable; when they stand for a verb, they’re
stressed on the second syllable. Sometimes the pronunciation changes too.

NOUN VERB

 Conduct 

 Desert 
 Insult 
 Progress 
 Protest  or 
 Record /

5. Compound nouns are stressed on the first component, but there’s a secondary accent on the
second one.

Boyfriend / Blackboard 

Weatherman  Drugstore 

6. Compound verbs, on the other hand, are stressed on the second component, but the first one
has a secondary accent.

Understand / Undertake 

Overlook  Overtake 

7. Reflexive pronouns are stressed on the second syllable.

Myself / Itself 

Yourself  Ourselves 
Himself  Yourselves 
Herself  Themselves 

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8. Numbers ending in –teen are stressed on the second syllable according to the New Newbury House
Dictionary. However, the British stress the first one. It may be a good idea, anyway, for a beginner to
stress the second syllable to avoid confusions between thirteen and thirty, for instance.

Thirteen / Seventeen 

Fourteen  Eighteen 
Fifteen  Nineteen 
Sixteen 

9. In general, when a suffix is added to a word, the new word is stressed on the same syllable, as was
the basic word.

Happy  Happiness 

Reason  Reasonable 
Scholar  Scholarship 
Conscious  Consciousness 
Question  Questionable 
Champion  Championship 
Lonely  Loneliness 

EXCEPT FOR:

10. When adding a suffix –tion, -sion, -ic, -ical, graphy, and –ity, the stress must be moved one
syllable to the right. Check these examples:

Contribute  Contribution 

Biology  Biological 
Public  Publicity 
Photograph  Photography 
Active  Activity 
Electron  Electronic 

EXERCISE 1. Underline the stressed syllable in the following words:

library fountain allow velvet famous American

country believe literature politics correct

future catholic cathedral maintenance hotel bicycle

rodeo astronaut electric electricity employee

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LESSON 6 TRANSCRIPTION

Transcription means to write the pronunciation of a word using phonetic symbols. We have actually
been working with them for a while; however, in this part of the course we will study some rules that
will hopefully help us improve our pronunciation as well as that of our students.

RULES FOR TRANSCRIPTION

1. The transcription of a word is always written between slash symbols. 

2. The phonetic symbols should be printed rather than written cursively, so they can be read easily.

3. Silent letters should not be transcribed.

Smoke  Walk  Castle 

4. Double consonants usually don’t mean that the consonant is pronounced twice, so they are
represented with a single symbol in the transcription.

Letter  Planning  Wall 

5. Two words may have the same transcription or pronunciation though they’re spelled in a different
way.
Break  Brake 
Sea  See 
Would  Wood 

6. Capitalization is not used in transcriptions.

Fish  Cloud  Play 

7. Syllables holding primary stress are indicated with the symbol . Secondary accent syllables are
preceded by the symbol .

Women  Photograph 

Success  Seventeen 
Administration 

8. Some words may have two or more acceptable pronunciations. We must indicate so. If you
check the dictionary you will find something like this:

Examples: Catsup 

Water 
Mustache 

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9. When we transcribe phases or sentences, we do not leave any empty spaces between the symbols
that represent every word. That’s the way a native speaker speaks. This phenomenon is known as
“blending”. Sometimes It’s difficult to identify where a word ends and the next one begins.

10. We don’t use any punctuation either.

They didn’t attend the meeting. 

She sometimes goes to the library. 
We had been told in advance. 

EXERCISE 1. Pronounce these very common words, and write them as they are usually spelled in
English.

1.  turn 11.  God

2.  six 12.  crazy
3.  last 13.  cause
4.  could 14.  cap
5.  boys 15.  them
6.  voice 16.  mean
7.  sing 17.  who
8.  just 18.  which
9.  three 19.  small
10.  town 20.  though

EXERCISE 2. Can you read these phrases? Write them the way they should be spelled in English.

1.  in the morning 14.  In the winter

2.  an English class 15.  next week
3.  we are glad 16.  he has finished
4.  to the teacher 17.  I have done it
5.  he’s a student 18.  we can swim
6.  in a minute 19.  is it easy?
7.  we can ask 20.  they come and go
8.  at the drugstore 21.  hard to get
9.  to the concert 22.  enough to eat
10.  we are happy 23.  she has heard it
11.  to the movies 24.  we should try it
12.  in the afternoon 25.  they eat and run
13.  from the theater 26.  it is dangerous

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TRANSCRIPTION
We have been commenting that guessing the right pronunciation of written words in English is not
always that simple; however; there are some patterns that FREQUENTLY occur, but there are many
exceptions. THEY CANNOT BE CONSIDERED GENERAL RULES; anyway we hope they can help
you transcribe the pronunciation of words correctly.

Keep in mind the fact that the transcription must represent all distinctive sounds heard when
the word is pronounced. DO NOT BE MISLED BY THE TRADITIONAL SPELLING.

Laugh  Bought 

Women  Ballet 

Before transcribing a word, separate it into syllables. Find the stress in the word, and pay special
attention to the pronunciation of the corresponding vowel sound. Remember that all unstressed
syllables should be transcribed with either an  or .

Follow patterns. Words containing the same sequence of letters tend to be pronounced the same
way, so if you are not sure of the correct pronunciation of a word, but you know the pronunciation of
other words that contain a similar sequence of letters, it is very probable that the unknown word is
pronounced the same way.

Fright  Might  Right 

Fight  Tight  *Shright  ??? *invented word

GUIDELINES FOR TRANSCRIPTION

1. Monosyllabic “A” or Stressed “A”

Jam  Cancer 

Cat  Matter 
Fat  Battle 

Except in: Car  Carpet 

Far  Target 

2. Monosyllabic “O” or Stressed “O”

Pot  Doctor 

Cop  Octopus 
Hot  Bottom 

*Except: “dog”, “lord”, “for”

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3. Monosyllabic “U” or Stressed “U”

Up  Under 

Cut  Rubber 
Cup  Uncle 

*Except: “put”, “push”, “pull”, “bull”

4. Saw  Automatic 

Law  Awful 
Paul  August 

*Except: “laugh”

5. Cow  Countable 

Town  Mountain 
Out  Doubt 

*Except: “own”, “crow”, “bowl”, “flow”, “slow”, “grow”, “throw”.

6. Flew  *Avenue -

Clue  True 
*New - Crew 

*Some words can be pronounced “-”

EXERCISE 3. Transcribe the following words trying to apply the tips we just learned, be careful with
exceptions.

1. Crown  11. Fox 

2. Owl  12. Flag 
3. Fault  13. Mud 
4. Blue  14. Lot 
5. Found  15. Flaw 
6. Answer  16. Sprout 
7. Dollar  17. Plugged 
8. Jammed  18. Market 
9. Jewel  19. Account 
10. Danced  20. Boxes 

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LESSON 7 TRANSCRIPTION II

7. Moon  School 

Tool  Google 
Soon  Food 

*Except “door”, “blood”, “poor”

8. Bee  Peanut 

Sea/see  Agree 
Tea  Tease 

*Except: “bread”, “heart”, “great”, “Earth”, “deaf”, “pearl”

Except in: Beer  Deer 

Fear  Near 

*Except: “pear”, “bear”

9. Joe  Over 

Toes  Cone 
TOEFL  Zone 

*Except “love”, “come”, “done”, “gone”, “one”

10. Coat  Float 

Boat  Road 
Toast  Foam 

*Except “board”, “abroad”

11. Plain  Brain 

Faint  Mainly 
Brain  Complain 

12. Height  Schneider 

Heidi  Alzheimer’s 
Klein  Einstein 

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13. Famous  Nervous 

Enormous  Anxious 

14. Brought  Fought 

Bought  Thought 

Except: “tough”, “dough”

EXERCISE 4. Transcribe the following words trying to apply the tips we just learned, be careful with
exceptions.

1. Faith  11. Chains 

2. Bone  12. Coast 
3. Dream  13. Cautious 
4. Flush  14. Maid 
5. Coach  15. Spawn 
6. Cool  16. Reach 
7. Mad  17. Rich 
8. Pots  18. Phone 
9. Rug  19. Jaws 
10. Bread*  20. Hugs 

15. Airport  Fairy 

Library  Repair 
Declare  Secretary 

*Except “ar” in monosyllables (see #1)

16. Although  Fall 

Recall  Altar 
Small  Walt 
*Except “pal”

17. Average  Luggage 

Baggage  Carriage 
Garbage  Cartridge 

*Except: “age”, “page”, “garage”, “collage”

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18. Picture  Century 

Culture  Structure 
Future  Adventure 

19. Pink  Kangaroo 

Sing  Mustang 
Thank  Strong 

20. Dancing  Cooking 

Reading  Loving 
Planning  Waiting 

21. Party  Coffee 

Happy  Trainee 
Sexy  Committee 

22. NOUN / ADJ. VERB

 Alternate 
 Elaborate 
 Intimate 

23. Ballet  Corvette 

Buffet  Chevrolet 

24. Education 

Schedule 
Procedure 

Remember they are not infallible rules, but tendencies. By learning these recommendations, you will be
able to transcribe words in English correctly. Remember to separate the word into syllables and to find the
stress before transcribing any word.

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PHONETIC COURSE Proactive English System ®

LESSON 8 REVIEW

EXERCISE 1. Answer the following questions.

1. What is Phonetics?
Phonetics is the science that helps us pronounce words and sentences correctly.

2. What are voiced and voiceless sounds?

Voiced sounds are the one that have a vibration on the vocal cords when they are
pronounced,; voiceless sounds do not have any vibration on the vocal cords.

3. Which are the nine voiceless sounds?

//, //, //, //, //, //, //, // and //

4. What is the difference between continuant and stop sounds? Give examples.
Continuant sounds are the ones that can be prolonged: //, //; and stop sounds are
the ones that cannot be prolonged: //, //

5. Which are the three CENTRAL VOWELS into the “Vowel Triangle”?
The central vowels are: //, // and //

EXERCISE 2. Classify the following consonant sounds.

SYMBOL VOICING STOP/CONTINUANT POINT OF ARTICULATION

1. // voiceless stop bilabial

2. // voiceless stop palatal

3. // voiced continuant labiodental

4. // voiced stop palatal

5. // voiced continuant palatal, sibilant

6. // voiced stop velar

7. // voiceless stop glottal

8. // voiced stop palatal, retroflex

9. // voiced continuant bilabial, nasal

10. // voiced continuant palatal, nasal

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 PHONETIC COURSE Proactive English System ®

EXERCISE 3. Transcription. Fill in the chart with the missing information; either the letter combination or
the phonetic symbol; then transcribe the words below the chart.

# COMBINATION SYMBOL # COMBINATION SYMBOL

1 A 12 EI
Monosyllabic/stresses
Except:
13 OUS
AR
2 O 14 OUGH
Monosyllabic/stresses

3 U 15 AR, AIR
Monosyllabic/stresses

4 AW, AU 16 AL, ALL

5 OW, OU 17 -AGE, -IDGE
6 EW, UE 18 TURE, TUR
7 00 19 N BEFORE G, K
8 EE, EA 20 -ING
Except:
21 FINAL -Y, -EE
EER, EAR
9 O+E 22 -ATE Nouns/adj. Verbs

10 OA 23 -ET, -ETTE
11 AI 24 SOMETIMES D

1. Candy  11. Sinking 

2. King  12. Paints 
3. Trains  13. Free 
4. Brush  14. Fear 
5. Blue  15. Awesome 
6. Tone  16. Structure 
7. Flat  17. Pawn 
8. Jar  18. Vote 
9. Stairs  19. Foolish 
10. Toads  20. Chocolate , -

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PHONETIC COURSE Professional English School ®

LESSON 9 ASPIRATION

INITIAL ASPIRATION  

English speakers have developed another type of difference between voiced and voiceless sounds,
other than the vibration, which occurs with voiceless stop consonants. and . When
appearing at the beginning of a word, they are pronounced with a little puff of air. In other words, Initial
voiceless stop consonants are aspirated. This aspiration can be indicated with the symbol 
following the consonant that is aspirated if we feel it’s important to stand it out. This feature, though, is
not always indicated in a dictionary.

ASPIRATION:

Pig  big *

Time  dime *
Come  gum *

*Notice that the voiced counterpart sounds do not present aspiration.

Initial aspiration is not common in other languages, so English learners may find it hard to aspirate
properly in English. A student may say, “I need some more time”, like  instead of
. This pronunciation may lead to misunderstanding, or at least to a strongly noticeable
“foreign accent”. We can correct this problem releasing the  sound with a puff of air and avoiding any
vibration of our vocal cords.

EXERCISE 1. Transcribe the following words indicating aspiration after initial voiceless stop consonants.

1. Truck  11. Call 

2. Duck  12. Ball 
3. Tall  13. Pear 
4. Clock  14. Bear 
5. Team  15. Ted 
6. Bark  16. Dead 
7. Park  17. Girl 
8. Thunder  18. Curl 
9. Chalk  19. Coat 
10. Fame  20. Goat 

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MEDIAL ASPIRATION  

Medial voiceless stops -those which occur within a word, after the first vowel sound and before the last
one- are aspirated in the same way when they appear at the beginning of a stressed syllable.
Secondary accent and unstressed syllables are not aspirated.

MEDIAL ASPIRATION:

Examples: Support  But not: Apple 

Contain  Better 
Across  Hacker 

FLAPPED “T”

Medial unstressed /p/, /t/ and /k/ are not aspirated, In fact, they are softened. Especially unstressed “/t/”,
between two voiced sounds, is usually substituted by its counterpart “/d/” in American English. The
reason is that it is easier to pronounce voiced sounds together than combining voiced and voiceless
sounds.

CORRECT FORM: FLAPPED “T”:

Some speakers make the necessary effort to pronounce these words differently; so though it’s not a
formal rule, this “flapped “t” is not only acceptable, but very common in American English. Students may
pronounce it either way, but the transcription must be in the correct form. Other examples are:

CORRECT FORM: FLAPPED “T”:

Party  “”

Saturday  “”
Butter  “”
Pretty  “”
Item  “”
Battle  “”

These words are transcribed in only one way, but may be pronounced the regular way, or with a flapped
“t”. Which one do you prefer? Which one is easier to say? Which one is more frequently heard?

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FINAL ASPIRATION

  

There’s a strong tendency in conversational English to avoid the strong aspiration of final stop consonants
/p/, /t/, /k/. We regularly pronounce only the first part of the stop, but allow our voice to die before the
release. We pronounce them half way, and we got accustomed to identifying them that way:

Stop  Light  Park 

They are not stressed at the end of the word.

However, final voiceless continuants and , at the end of a word, are pronounced with a
great deal of force, in other words, they are aspirated when they are final.

Teeth  Path 

Half  Enough 
Kiss  Class 
Flash  Brush 

EXERCISE 2. Transcribe the following words indicating initial, medial or final aspiration.

1. Attack  13. Miss 

2. Prepare  14. Smooth 

3. Panic  15. Dash 

4. Cactus  16. Clutch 

5. Compete  17. Forgot 

6. Appear  18. Splash 

7. Cotton  19. With 

8. Cutter  20. Appeal 

9. Obtain  21. Fish 

10. Applaud  22. Preach 

11. Recline  23. Atom 

12. Spooky  24. Autumn 

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LESSON 10 LENGTHENING & INSERTION OF //

LENGTHENING OF STRESSED VOWELS

Take a look at the following words and pronounce them several times:

Bus / Buzz /

It actually takes as much as twice the time to pronounce, “buzz” than “bus”. That’s because the vowel
sound is lengthened. Stressed vowel sounds preceding final voiced consonants are
lengthened, making it little easier to pronounce the final vibration. We indicate this lengthening with a
colon between the stressed vowel and the final voiced consonant: . Once again, this is a very
academic feature, and it may not be shown in a dictionary.

LENGTHENING:

Bag  Back 

Leave  Leaf 
Sad  Sat 

EXERCISE 1. Transcribe the following words indicating aspiration as well as lengthening when
necessary.

1. Feet  11. Feed 

2. Save  12. Safe 
3. Bed  13. Bet 
4. Mop  14. Mob 
5. Dead  15. Death 
6. Race  16. Raise 
7. Peas  17. Peace 
8. Place  18. Plays 
9. Hat  19. Had 
10. Mad  20. Math 

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INSERTION OF  BETWEEN FRONT VOWELS AND FINAL RETROFLEX CONSONANTS

In lesson 2, we learned the classification of vowels. We said the vowel sounds and are
known as front vowels because they are produced in the front part of the mouth.

When a front vowel, pronounced at the front part of the mouth, appears before a final or, which are
pronounced at the back part of the mouth (retroflex), our organs of speech have to move from front to
back, and they have to pass through the middle of the mouth in a very relaxed position while our vocal
cords are vibrating.

Not only do we have lengthening, but also a kind of  sound is heard. English students should try to
intentionally pronounce this  sound in order to make final or sound more natural. Otherwise we’ll
still have this “foreign accent” around. Of course this is a very academic feature too, and it may not be
shown in the transcription of a dictionary.

 Feel 

 Beer 
 Pale  or *
 Care 
 Pal 

*Note: The triphthong  may be changed into the diphthong  when adding the :

Mail  or 

Tail  or 
Fail  or 

EXERCISE 2. Transcribe the following words indicating aspiration, lengthening or even insertion of .

1. Kill  11. Face 

2. Fear  12. Male -
3. Meal  13. Let 
4. Pal  14. Skull 
5. Repair  15. Heel 
6. Mall  16. Hill 
7. Pear  17. Jail  - 
8. Tell  18. Bath 
9. Tall  19. Bad 
10. Tag  20. Bat 

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LESSON 11 SENTENCE STRESS, CONTENT AND FUNCTION WORDS

SENTENCE STRESS

We learned about word stress in lesson 5. But, we have to extend this concept a little bit if we want to
have a complete picture in that we normally express our ideas using complete sentences, or at least
phrases, not single words. Let’s analyze the following example:

I am glad to see you.

This sentence is made out of monosyllabic words, so there’s no word stress in it. Nevertheless, the words
“glad” and “see” would normally be pronounced with more emphasis than the rest of the words, just like
stressed syllables are said in a polysyllabic word.

WHICH WORDS SHOULD BE STRESSED?

Words can be divided in two groups according to their importance within a sentence in:

CONTENT WORDS

Content words are those which have a meaning themselves. These words are the ones that are usually
stressed within a sentence. Content words include:

a. Nouns
b. Main verbs (Not auxiliary verbs)
c. Adjectives
d. Demonstratives adjectives (This, that, these and those)
e. Adverbs
f. Interrogative words (Who, which, when, why, etc.)

FUNCTION WORDS

Function words –usually unstressed-, are those that have little, or no other meaning than the grammar
idea they express. They help structure the sentence. Among this group of words we find:

a. Articles
b. Prepositions
c. Personal pronouns (I, you, he, etc.)
d. Possessive adjectives (My, your, his, etc.)
e. Relative pronouns (Who, that, which, etc.)
f. Common conjunctions (and, but, as, etc.)
g. One (like in: I like the blue one.)
h. Auxiliary verbs (Except at the end of the sentence or in tag endings)

So the answer to “Which words should be stressed?” is:

ONLY CONTENT WORDS SHOULD BE STRESSED.

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WEAKENED WORDS

There is a strong tendency to weaken the vowels of the most common unstressed monosyllabic words,
that is, they are pronounced either with an or an within a sentence, just like unstressed syllables are
said in a word. The most common weakened words, with their weakened transcription are:

And  Up  Have 

A  On  Has 
An  At  Had 
The  That  Can 
To  Are 
Of  Was 
Or  Were 

EXERCISE 1. Mark the stressed syllables of all content words in the following sentences.

1. I don’t think he can succeed on the trip. 7. Is it enough for you?

2. The red rose is to be planted here. 8. They just didn’t reply to the letter.
3. Shall I deliver it tomorrow? 9. I think that they really liked it.
4. Did you understand what she said? 10. They have discussed the topic extensively.
5. Where are they going? 11. Please, pass me the sugar.
6. He said he’d come, but I know he won’t. 12. Perhaps we’ll meet them at the reception.

EXERCISE 2. Pronounce the following expressions joining the sounds all together as they would be said
in normal speech (blending correctly) making the contrast between stressed and unstressed syllables,
then write them down, as they should be spelled in English.

1.  Of the lesson 11.  To be happy

2.  Of the day 12.  She has told me

3.  Of a word 13.  He has seen it

4.  In a bus 14.  I thought so

5.  He’s a friend 15.  I can make it

6.  It’s a question 16.  It was made

7.  It’s an answer 17.  We are going

8.  Is it true? 18.  Five or six

9.  In the navy 19.  Back and forth

10.  Those that came 20.  Salt and pepper

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 PHONETIC COURSE Proactive English System ®

LESSON 12 RISING-FALLING INTONATION

INTONATION

Intonation is the tune of what we say, it is the combination of musical tones on which we
pronounce the syllables that make up our speech. It is closely related to sentence stress. Often, but
not always, a syllable with sentence stress is spoken on a higher musical note than the unstressed
syllables. In such cases, intonation is one of the elements of stress, the others being loudness and
length.

Good speakers may use as many as twenty-five different tones to give variety and meaning to what they
say, though most people use a much smaller range. The following drawing will hopefully illustrate this
feature more graphically. In order to simplify the study of intonation, we have established four types of
notes: Extra high, high, normal and low.

We can show the movements of the voice up or down by drawing lines at these four levels under or over
the sentence. A line at the base of the letters indicates a normal tone; a line above the letters indicates a
high tone, and a line some distance below the word indicates a low tone. A line drawn some distance
above the word indicates an extra-high tone. When we go down to the low tone, we can use either a
“shift” or a “glide”:

Examples:

We are studying intonation

We’ll work all day long.

SHIFT:

When the last sentence stress is not the last syllable of the sentence, we use a “shift”, that means
a straight line between syllables for leaving the remaining unstressed syllables with a low tone.

GLIDE:
When the last sentences stress is also the last syllable of the sentence, we use a “glide”, that
means a line curving down within the syllable, with the intention to go from “high” to “low” as
pronouncing this last syllable.

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RISING-FALLING INTONATION

Correct intonation is most necessary at the end of a sentence. In this position, the voice normally rises
above normal, and then falls below normal tone. This rising-falling pattern may look like either one of
these ways:

Normal-high-low (with a shift)

Normal-high-low (with a glide)

The high tone usually coincides with the last stressed syllable of the sentence.

Examples:

The situátion is dífficult. Whén did the dóctor cáll?

I sáid I couldn’t héar you. Close the window!

RISING-FALLING INTONATION IS USED IN 3 CASES:

Declarative Sentences, imperative sentences and “wh-questions”.

a. Declarative sentences (Affirmative or negative).

I didn’t sleep well last night. I need to talk to you.

I’m going to see the doctor. The new teacher is very short.

b. Imperative sentences (Commands).

Don’t say bad words. Don’t speak Spanish in the classroom!

Please, speak slowly. Open your books to page five!

c. Wh-questions (questions beginning with an interrogative word).*

What do you need? Why are you so sad?

When’s your birthday? What time are we leaving?

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*The intonation pattern in “Wh-questions” particularly differs from others used in languages like
Spanish, for instance. Make sure this type of question is said with a rising-falling intonation.

EXERCISE 1. Mark intonation in the following sentences, and then read them aloud following the
intonation line until they sound perfectly natural to you. Don’t forget to weaken unstressed vowels, and to
blend words together.

1. I’d like an apple. 6. How long did you live there?

2. Why didn’t you tell me? 7. In Pasadena, there’s a playhouse.

3. Open the door! 8. Most children like to play house.

4. Where did you have lunch? 9. She is homesick.

5. Keep this in mind. 10. She is at home sick.

EXERCISE 2. Read the following sentences silently, and then write them down in English indicating
intonation. Read them again following the intonation line.

1.  This is New York. 7.  I’m ready to go.

2.  I need a room. 8.  I’m hungry.

3.  Where’s the hotel? 9.  It’s been a good trip.

4.  It’s near the library. 10.  Pay for it how!

5.  Write your name here! 11.  That will be fine.

6.  Who brought the bag? 12.  We’ll be seeing you.

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PHONETIC COURSE Professional English School ®

LESSON 13 RISING INTONATION

AND NON-FINAL INTONATION

RISING INTONATION

Rising intonation has a “Normal-high” pattern; as to express that you are expecting a yes / no
answer from the listener. Thus, we use this intonation in “YES-NO QUESTIONS”. This type of
questions usually begin with an auxiliary and they are answered with a “yes” or a “no”.

Normal - high

The high tone begins in the last stressed syllable of the sentence.

Examples:

Shall I answer the télephone? Did you sée it?

Have you fínished? Does she líke it?

Actually, we can change any declarative sentence into a question by using this rising intonation
pattern. This is permitted only in oral informal English, this type of sentence is called “declarative
question”. Remember in formal written English, it’s always better to ask questions using auxiliary
and formal grammar syntax.

Examples:

You did your homework. (Statement)

You did your homework? (Declarative Question)

It’s time for the class to end. (Statement)

It’s time for the class to end? (Declarative Question)

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EXERCISE 1. Mark intonation in the following sentences, and then read them aloud following the
intonation line until they sound perfectly natural to you.

1. Do you remember her? 6. Is it raining hard?

2. Can you do it yourself? 7. Didn’t they tell you?

3. Does he speak Italian? 8. Shall we dance?

4. Have you had breakfast yet? 9. Has it rained a lot lately?

5. Did you take a look at it? 10. You know the president?

NON-FINAL INTONATION

We have so far studied final intonation patterns, but there are others that occur throughout the
sentence. They are called “non-final intonation” patterns

THOUGHT GROUPS (sentences and clauses)

1. End the first group with the rising-falling pattern, that means with “Normal-High-Low”. We do
this when we think it’s necessary to “separate” both thought groups; when we want to create an idea
of independence between them. They’re often marked by a colon (:) or a semi colon (;).

I’ll tell you the truth: It can’t be done. I don’t want to go; it’s dangerous.

2. Pronounce the first group with a “Normal-high-normal” pattern. This is done when we want to
create an idea of “continuity” between both groups; as to suggest you haven’t finished talking.

You say it’s easy, but you won’t try it. If you need me, I’ll be in my room.

3. End the first group with the rising pattern, “Normal-high”. This, in general occurs whenever
the speaker wishes to create suspense.

When I come back, I’ll give you a present.

If you want to learn chemistry, you’ve got to work.

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EXERCISE 2. Mark intonation in every thought group of the following sentences, and then read them
aloud following the intonation line until they sound perfectly natural to you. Don’t forget to weaken
unstressed vowels, and to blend words together.

1. The real problem is: They are not prepared.

2. He offered to help; but I know he won’t.

3. If you don’t finish on time, you won’t go to the party.

4. No matter what they say; I won’t participate.

5. Before you go on to the next page, check the recommendations.

6. When she entered the room, she saw an awful scene!

7. I don’t want to make you feel bad; but that dress doesn’t look well on you.

DEMONSTRATIVE AND INTERROGATIVE WORDS

Demonstrative words (this, that, these and those) and interrogative words (what, where, when, how,
why, what time, how long, how often, how many, how much, etc…) are always marked and pronounced
with a high tone:

Examples: I think that is a good idea.

This car is bigger than mine.

What have you done?

What have they commented?

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This practice can be extended to other words placed in any position. This is to highlight a particular
element in the sentence, adding some extra information depending on the logics of the context. The
question “Will you drive to the office tomorrow?” for example, can have a slightly different connotation
depending on the intonation given by the speaker.

Examples: Will you drive to the office tomorrow? (Normal question)

Will you drive to the office tomorrow? (Rather than the chauffer)

Will you drive to the office tomorrow? (Rather than walk)

Will you drive to the office tomorrow? (Rather than anywhere else)

ECHO QUESTIONS

Even Wh-questions can hold a final high tone (Instead of the normal rising-falling pattern) in an echo
question. This is a question we say or repeat after we hear some surprising information we just can’t
believe; it’s somehow like a “What?”

-Where do your grandparents live? (Normal question)

-They live in Monaco. (Surprising information)

-Where do your grandparents live? (Echo question 1)

-Where did you say your grandparents lived? (Echo question 2)

-Where??? (Echo question 3)

Now, you mark intonation:

-How old is your grandmother? (Normal question)

-She is 93 years old. (Surprising information)

-How old did you say she was? (Echo question)

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EXERCISE 3. Mark intonation in each of the following questions and answers giving special emphasis on
the word that answers the information requested in the question, and then read them aloud following the
intonation line until they sound perfectly natural to you.

1. -Who took the car? 5. -Will Johnny bring it to you?

-I took the car. -Pam will bring it to me.

2. -Which book did you buy? 6. –Did Pam bring it already?

-I bought the small one. -No, but she will bring it tomorrow.

3. -Which one do you prefer? 7. –What are you going to do with it?

-I will keep this one. -I will probably sell it.

4. -He’s not working hard. 8. –Who is going to sell it?

-He is working hard. - I will probably sell it.

EXERCISE 4. Mark intonation. Pay special attention to: thought groups, echo questions and declarative
sentences.

1. I’m very hungry; you’re hungry too?

2. How long will the meeting last?

-It will last about three hours.

-How long did you say it would last?

3. If you’d told me about the exam yesterday, I would’ve studied more.

4. You’re sure you love me?

5. What pet do you have?

-I have a snake.

-What pet did you say you had?

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LESSON 14 NON-FINAL INTONATION II

COMPARISONS

Special attention is called on two items being contrasted or compared. These two elements are, however,
given different value. One is said at a high tone while the other one is pronounced at an extra high tone.
No rules are written on which one holds one or the other; it’s an emotional element more than anything
else that determines which one is said at a higher tone.

Betty dances better than I do.

Or:

Betty dances better than I do.

The new team is as good as the old one.

Or:

The new team is as good as the old one.

EXERCISE 1. Mark intonation in the following sentences, and then read them aloud following the
intonation line until they sound perfectly natural to you.

1. Twitter has become much more popular than Facebook.

2. Joe eats more tacos than Danny does.

3. I think the white coat is more elegant than the blue one.

4. Do you read better than you speak?*

5. We give a better service than our competitors do.

6. Italian food is spicier than Chinese food.

*Pay special attention to number 4, what kind of question is it? What intonation should we use?

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SERIES WITH “AND” / “OR”

We use a rising intonation pattern in all elements contained in a series of items joined with the conjunctions
“and” and “or” except for the last one, which holds a rising-falling intonation pattern. This is done to
emphasize the contrast among elements; one of the elements is said at a higher tone than the others, and
no rules are written on which one holds this extra high tone; it’s an emotional element more than anything
else that determines which one is said at a higher tone. The pattern looks like this:

The extra-high tone will depend on the speaker’s choice.

Examples:
I went to the bank, the market, and the drugstore.

You can say it in writing or orally.

We’ll go to the drugstore, a cafeteria, or a restaurant.

He speaks English, Spanish, and French.

OPTIONS WITH “OR”

This pattern usually presents two elements to be chosen by the listener; it is introduced by a question
beginning with an auxiliary, but it is not a “Yes-No question”, because it is not answered by a simple “yes” o
a “no”, but with one of the elements to be chosen. One of them will be extra-high and it looks like this:

The extra-high tone will depend on the speaker’s choice.

Examples:

Will you have coffee or tea? Do you prefer Coke or Pepsi?

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DIRECT ADDRESS

Rising intonation is used for names and titles addressed directly to a person to whom one is speaking.
Direct address may come at the end of the sentence or in any other position, and it doesn’t affect
intonation in the rest of the sentence. This rising pattern can go from a normal to a high tone, or even
from a low to a normal tone.

Examples:

My friend, I’m glad to see you.

Or:

My friend, I’m glad to see you.

How are you feeling, Dr. Robert?

Or:

How are you feeling, Dr. Robert?

TAG QUESTIONS

There are 2 types of “Tag Questions”:

1. CONFIRMATION: Rising-Falling Intonation. High-Low

The most common one is the confirmation of a statement. In this type of “Tag question”, the speaker is
confident that the hearer will agree with him/her; he/she is almost sure of the answer, so he/she uses a
“rising-falling” intonation as to CONFIRM what he/she thinks it’s true.

Examples:

Our teacher is very good, isn’t he?

Your computer isn’t very old, is it?

She has a great attitude, doesn’t she?

They didn’t confirm the appointment, did they?

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2. REAL QUESTION: Rising Intonation. Normal-High

In this type of “Tag question”, the speaker is not really sure of the listener’s opinion, so he asks a real
question. The tag question is said using a rising intonation pattern since it’s a real “yes/no question”.

Examples:
I don’t fit well in this dress, do I?

They could come if necessary, couldn’t they?

We don’t have to come tomorrow, do we?

EXERCISE 2. Mark intonation of the following sentences including comparisons, tag questions, series
with and/or, options with or and direct address.

1. I’ll see you at the reception, won’t I? (Confirmation)

2. Did you talk to the manager or to the secretary?

3. We study Phonetics, Grammar and History.

4. What do you want for breakfast, your majesty?

5. The final exam won’t include all the book, will it? (Real Question)

6. You can talk to Jerry, Steve or Mark.

7. Will you pay with credit card or cash?

8. Professor Chaires, Are we coming to class tomorrow?

9. Cats are more intelligent than dogs.

10. You know what I mean, don’t you? (Confirmation)

11. When is your birthday, Professor Dumbledore?

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LESSON 15 FINAL REVIEW

EXERCISE 1. Match the columns.

1. Aspiration 14 Normal-high pattern

2. Voiceless 3 Sounds with vibration on the vocal cords
3. Voiced 5 //, //, // and //

4. Initial aspiration 10 It’s the tune of what we say.

5. Final aspiration 2 Sounds without vibration on the vocal cords
6. Lengthening 12 Stressed on the second syllable
7. Rising-falling intonation 11 Same point of articulation, different voice.
8. Rising intonation 13 High-low pattern
9. Insertion of // 6 A prolonged vowel sound

10. Intonation 9 Between front vowels and retroflex sounds.

11. Most nouns n English 8 Yes-No questions.
12. Most verbs in English 1 It’s a “puff” of air pronounced in some sounds.
13. Confirmation tag question 7 Declarative, imperative and wh-questions.
14. Real tag question 4 //, // and //

15. Counterparts 11 Stressed on the first syllable

EXERCISE 2. Transcribe the following words indicating aspiration and lengthening.

1. Loading  11. Classes 

2. Picky  12. Crazy 
3. Rabbits  13. Year 
4. Dolphins  14. Feature 
5. Attach  15. Balls 
6. Problem  16. Ankle 
7. Breath  17. Pets 
8. Pale - 18. Jews 
9. Muffin  19. Cough 
10. Pot  20. Real 

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EXERCISE 3. Mark intonation in the following sentences, and then read them aloud following the
intonation line until they sound perfectly natural to you. Don’t forget to weaken unstressed vowels, and to
blend words together.

1. What are you going to order?

2. I’m going to order soup, salad and a steak.

3. Captain Lawson, you’ve done a perfect job.

4. Enjoy your meal, my friend.

5. You are kidding me, aren’t you? (Confirmation)

6. I had fried eggs, toast, and coffee.

7. Can I ask you something, Professor Smith?

8. Canada is bigger than Mexico.

9. Shall I call the doctor or the nurse?

10. What do you think about it?

11. Are we going to the museum or the theater?

12. You like your neighbor, don’t you? (Real Question)

13. The Curies were French, weren’t they? (Confirmation)

14. I practice football, tennis and soccer.

15. To be totally honest, I don’t like you.

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